Whenever I run across any kind of journalism dilemma in my daily work, I like to throw it on the blog. (As you can tell, as a sportswriter, I don't run across too many.)
I recently got this e-mail from one of the higher-ups. My gut reaction, probably because it starts with the words "marketing department," is to not do it. Anyway, here it is:
Marketing department is working on house ads to promote KY Enquirer -- we'd like testimonials from you.
Here's the plan:
You write 5-6 sentences about covering the news of NKY, why you love it (if you love it). We'll take your photo at work and make an ad.
We want your own words and experiences, so write whatever you like.
We want to show KY readers that the Kentucky Enquirer is vested in covering the news of KY -- on its sports fields, in Frankfort, in Covington, Alexandria and Hebron, in its classrooms, on its streets.
Whatever happened to the days when advertising was on this side of the building and news was on that side of the building? I guess we can't work at The Post forever.
I will say this though: If I decide to do it, I want my "photo at work" to be like Brian Fantana's promo from Anchorman -- smoking a cigarette, singing doo-wop with some guys on a street corner. Nothing screams "newsman" quite like that.
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2 comments:
As a fellow Cincinnatian, I'd say the fact that this immediately follows the shuttering of the Cincinnati and Kentucky Post is hardly coincidental. It seemed to me that Kentuckians favored the Post, and I imagine they're the ones who clung to it to the end. No surprise the Enquirer would want to draw in those folks; now that the Post is gone the Enquirer can be more aggressive about it.
This new advertising campaign sounds like the Enquirer is trying to be like the Post, but ironically, in very un-Post-like fashion.
Issues of editorial ethics aside, I have to wonder about its potential effectiveness. How much credibility is a reader going to give a testimonial from an employee? It's kind of like a widget-maker saying, "Buy my product--it's great!" Who wouldn't endorse their own product? Why not elicit real customer testimonials instead?
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